Giova shot a suspicious glance at him.The other girl in-voluntarily drew away.Bridge noted the act and shook his head."No," he said, "we mustn't judge one another hastily, Miss Prim, and I take it you are Miss Prim?"The girl made a half gesture of denial, started to speak, hesitated and then resumed."I would rather not say who I am, please," she said.
"Well," said the man, "let's take one another at face value for a while, without digging too deep into the past; and now for our plans.This wood will be searched;but I don't see how we are to get out of it before dark as the roads are doubtless pretty well patrolled, or at least every farmer is on the lookout for suspicious strangers.
So we might as well make the best of it here for the rest of the day.I think we're reasonably safe for the time being--if we keep Willie with us."Willie had been an interested auditor of all that passed between his captors.He was obviously terrified;but his terror did not prevent him from absorbing all that he heard, nor from planning how he might utilize the information.He saw not only one reward but sev-eral and a glorious publicity which far transcended the most sanguine of his former dreams.He saw his picture not only in the Oakdale Tribune but in the newspapers of every city of the country.Assuming a stern and arro-gant expression, or rather what he thought to be such, he posed, mentally, for the newspaper cameramen; and such is the power of association of ideas that he was presently strolling nonchalantly before a battery of mo-tion picture machines."Gee!" he murmured, "wont the other fellers be sore! I s'ppose Pinkerton'll send for me 'bout the first thing 'n' offer me twenty fi' dollars a week, er mebbie more 'n thet.Gol durn, ef I don't hold out fer thirty! Gee!" Words, thoughts even, failed him.
As the others planned they rather neglected Willie and when they came to assisting Giova in lowering her father into the grave and covering him over with earth they quite forgot Willie entirely.It was The Oskaloosa Kid who first thought of him."Where's the boy?" he cried suddenly.The others looked quickly about the clearing, but no Willie was to be seen.
Bridge shook his head ruefully."We'll have to get out of this in a hurry now," he said."That little defective will have the whole neighborhood on us in an hour.""Oh, what can we do?" cried the girl."They mustn't find us! I should rather die than be found here with--"She stopped abruptly, flushed scarlet as the other three looked at her in silence, and then: "I am sorry," she said.
"I didn't know what I was saying.I am so frightened.
You have all been good to me."
"I tell you what we do." It was Giova speaking in the masterful voice of one who has perfect confidence in his own powers."I know fine way out.This wood circle back south through swamp mile, mile an' a half.The road past Squeebs an' Case's go right through it.I know path there I fin' myself.We on'y have to cross road, that only danger.Then we reach leetle stream south of woods, stream wind down through Payson.We all go Gypsies.I got lot clothing in house.We all go Gypsies, an' when we reach Payson we no try hide--jus' come out on street with Beppo.Mak' Beppo dance.No one think we try hide.Then come night we go 'way.Find more wood an' leetle lake other side Payson.I know place.We hide there long time.No one ever fin' us there.We tell two, three, four people in Payson we go Oakdale.They look Oakdale for us if they wan' fin' us.
They no think look where we go.See?"
"Oh, I can't go to Payson," exclaimed the other girl.
"Someone would be sure to recognize me."
"You come in house with me," Giova assured her, "Ifeex you so your own mother no know you.You mens come too.I geeve you what to wear like Gypsy mens.
We got lots things.My father, him he steal many things from our people after they drive us out.He go back by nights an' steal."The three followed her toward the little hovel since there seemed no better plan than that which she had offered.Giova and the other girl were in the lead, fol-lowed by Bridge and the boy.The latter turned to the man and placed a hand upon his arm."Why don't you leave us," he asked."You have done nothing.No one is looking for you.Why don't you go your way and save yourself from suspicion."Bridge did not reply.
"I believe," the youth went on, "that you are doing it for me; but why I can't guess.""Maybe I am," Bridge half acknowledged."You're a good little kid, but you need someone to look after you.
It would be easier though if you'd tell me the truth about yourself, which you certainly haven't up to now.""Please don't ask me," begged the boy."I can't; hon-estly I can't."
"Is it as bad as that?" asked the man.
"Oh, its worse," cried The Oskaloosa Kid."It's a thou-sand times worse.Don't make me tell you, for if I do tell I shall have to leave you, and--and, oh, Bridge, Idon't want to leave you--ever!"
They had reached the door of the cabin now and were looking in past the girl who had halted there as Giova entered.Before them was a small room in which a large, vicious looking brown bear was chained.
"Behold our ghost of last night!" exclaimed Bridge.
"By George! though, I'd as soon have hunted a real ghost in the dark as to have run into this fellow.""Did you know last night that it was a bear?" asked the Kid."You told Giova that you followed the foot-prints of herself and her bear; but you had not said any-thing about a bear to us."
"I had an idea last night," explained Bridge, "that the sounds were produced by some animal dragging a chain; but I couldn't prove it and so I said nothing, and then this morning while we were following the trail Imade up my mind that it was a bear.There were two facts which argued that such was the case.The first is that I don't believe in ghosts and that even if I did Iwould not expect a ghost to leave footprints in the mud, and the other is that I knew that the footprints of a bear are strangely similar to those of the naked feet of man.